A conventional shoulder pad as used by ice hockey players comprises a series of padded sections to protect the chest, back, shoulder and upper arm regions of the player, these sections being interconnected or in some instances integrated into a fabric carrier so that they may be put on and removed altogether. Typically in such shoulder pad, the front chest protecting panels meet in the region of the sternum of the player and are interconnected by means of laces, while the rear protecting panels meet in the region of the spine and are interconnected by means of straps. Other types of shoulder pads may comprise one-piece front and rear panels which are sized to cover the player's chest and back respectively. Shoulder pads are usually sold in four different sizes i.e. small, medium, large and X-large, and for two different types of players i.e. Junior and Adult. Usually, the size of a shoulder pad is fixed, but some prior shoulder pads allowed adjustments.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,545,039 discloses a shoulder pad having a connecting member which connects the rear left and rear right sections together. More particularly, this connecting member comprises at each end upper and lower slots having different branches for receiving a screw. In use, the player may insert the screws in one of the different branches in order to connect together the rear sections at an appropriate space distance from each other. While this prior shoulder pad provide a certain level of adjustment, it requires use of bolts, screws, nuts or another element for securing together the two rear sections. Furthermore, no real adjustment is provide at the front of the shoulder pad since the front sections are simply interconnected together by lacing, and there is then no protection between those front sections in the sternum area.
Thus, there is a need in the industry for a shoulder pad which provides an easier way to adjust and secure together the different adjustable portions of the shoulder pad while allowing a good protection level. There is also a need for an adjustable junior shoulder pad which offers a sufficient degree of adjustment to be usable for many seasons while in the child's years of growth.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable shoulder pad including right and left main portions, each main portions having front and rear panels interconnected together by a shoulder arch, said panels having respective overlapping surfaces comprising affixing means wherein said right and left portions may be interconnected by affixing together said respective overlapping surfaces while allowing size adjustment of said shoulder pad.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a junior shoulder pad for hockey players which offers a considerable degree of size adjustment for the child's years of growth.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the overlapping surfaces comprise loops and hooks sections for affixing together the front and rear panels.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and to the drawings.